Wake
by Eliss Elusive
Summary: When Annabeth Chase found Percy Jackson unconscious, she never dreamed her life would be turned upside down by simply taking him to the hospital. Now she's been thrown into a world she knows nothing about, where gods exist and a war is brewing. Slightly AU, with Percabeth in the later chapters.


_Inspired by Once Upon a Time. Slightly AU, just a heads up. _

**Wake**

**Chapter One**

Annabeth Chase had been working for the last 26 hours straight. She was literally running on coffee and willpower.

Being a CNA wasn't glamorous, but it paid better than most jobs available to college students. This weekend, she was making more than she would in a month at McDonald's. Of course, she also was so tired that the cots in the ER were looking increasingly appealing.

Annabeth promised herself she would punch out after she finished cleaning up the mess a small child with strep had made on the floor. It was ten at night; she'd get home by 10:30 and sleep until eight the next morning – the time she was scheduled for her next shift.

Technically, she should have left 18 hours ago. Having a person working for so long was just a lawsuit waiting to happen. But another girl had called in sick, and Annabeth had lost track of time. She had always been a bit of a workaholic.

Finally, the vomit was cleaned up and her card was punched. It was time to go home.

The parking ramp was never exactly a welcoming place, but it was positively creepy this late at night. Annabeth held her car keys tightly, walking as quickly as she could. What level had she parked on again?

That was when she first heard him. "Help!" he screamed. Next, she heard a crashing sound.

Annabeth had two choices. She could call 911 and get the hell out of there, or she could investigate what was going on herself.

A fresh burst of adrenaline rushing through her veins, she ran towards the source of the sound.

All she could make out in the darkness were two figures – one slightly taller than the other. He was pointing a gun at the shorter boy. "Any last words?" he asked.

"You're not going to win, Luke. You know that, right?" the shorter of the two said. Annabeth grabbed her phone and began dialing 911 with shaking fingers. "If you kill me, someone else will just take my place."

"Oh, I don't think so, Percy. I think-"

Annabeth dropped her phone. The taller figure – Luke – looked in her direction for a moment before murmuring something under his breath. He hit the other boy on the head with the butt of his gun before just…

Disappearing?

Annabeth hesitated for a moment before running towards the crumpled form of the boy, Percy. "Are you okay?" she asked, shaking his shoulder. "Percy?"

The boy didn't so much as groan in response. Though the lighting was dim, Annabeth could distinguish several cuts, as well as a bruise forming on his left temple. Instinctively, she checked for a pulse, breathing a sigh of relief when she found one.

Annabeth did a quick mental survey. She was on the third floor of the hospital's parking ramp, Percy was completely unconscious, and she'd dropped her phone and forgotten to pick it up. It was obvious what she had to do.

Somehow, she found the energy to carry him back to the hospital.

One of the nurses raised her eyebrows when Annabeth came back into the hospital just minutes after leaving, but the questioning look quickly turned to surprise when she saw the reason Annabeth had come back.

"I found him unconscious," Annabeth said – an altered version of what had happened, and an easier one to explain. "He's unresponsive, cause of injuries unknown."

The nurse nodded, running off to get a wheelchair. Annabeth almost felt bad about working the system – saying exactly what she knew would get Percy a doctor as fast as possible. But at the same time, he needed to be checked out immediately – not in three hours after a doctor finally became available.

In a few short minutes, the nurse came back and wheeled Percy to one of the rooms. She returned a few minutes later with a message for Annabeth. "The doctor is asking if you can stay for a few hours," she said.

That was the last thing Annabeth wanted to do.

"At least until we're done with a few tests – in case the doctor discovers anything he'd like to question you about," the nurse elaborated, seeing the hesitation in Annabeth's face. "And I'm sure the patient will want to talk to you once he wakes up."

Something compelled Annabeth to agree. She found an open seat in the waiting room and immediately fell into a dreamless sleep.

It was 1:30 in the morning when a nurse came out to get her. "Annabeth," she said, shaking her awake gently. "You should probably go home now," she said quietly.

"What?" Annabeth asked, wiping the sleep from her eyes. "What about Percy?"

"Come back in the morning. Maybe-"

"What happened?" Annabeth demanded.

"He…he…Annabeth, he slipped into a coma."

_Notes: Short and rushed, I know. Future chapters will be longer, lovelies. Reviews are awesome._


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